


Beyond (And All The Other Failures In The Orphanage)

by Deus_Ex_Ash



Category: Death Note & Related Fandoms, Death Note: Another Note
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Character Turned Into a Ghost, Cross-Posted on Amino, Dark Comedy, Established Relationship, Ghosts, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Suicide, L Bashing, L is a Dick, Major Character Undeath, Mostly From Beyond, Mostly From Mello, Multi, Near Bashing, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Relationship(s), Platonic Relationships, Religious Imagery & Symbolism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-12-06 13:42:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11601816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deus_Ex_Ash/pseuds/Deus_Ex_Ash
Summary: Strange things have been going on at Wammy's House lately. Jars of jam are being smashed. People's missing belongings are turning up in impossible places. Even Near' s room gets utterly trashed.  People are saying it's a ghost, but Mello doesn't buy it.That is until deceased serial killer Beyond Birthday shows up in his bedroom.





	1. Chapter 1

Mello never did believe in ghosts. It was stupid to think that people could come back after death. Death was the only guarantee in life. Eventually, you would die and depending on how terrible a person you were, you'd either be paragoned to Paradise or burn forever in Hell. Either way it was permanent.

So Mello took every mention of Wammy’s being haunted with a pillar of salt. There had been several rumors about ghosts over the years. Most of them had come from people mistaking Near for an unholy apparition. That never failed to put a smile on Mello’s face,l. Still, there were some that stuck around.

The most recent one had caught Mello’s attention. It had been about a week since Matt had hacked into Roger’s computer and let the entire orphanage know that Beyond Birthday had been killed by Kira. That had kicked the rumor mill into overdrive. Wammy’s Number 1 Failure: dead. Inconceivable! Once Roger had confirmed that Beyond was dead (a stupid move on his part), the stories started. 

First, one of the kids had overheard one of the staff say that that several jars of strawberry jam had been found smashed on the ground. Then there had been several incidences of items going missing and being found in stranger places: the inside of ceiling lights, the U bend of one of the toilets,  the glass panes of a window. They showed up everywhere.

Then Near’s room got trashed.

They'd tried to pin the crime on Mello but he, Matt, and Near had been taking exams when it happened so Mello couldn't have done it. That threw everyone for a loop.

Specter or not, Mello would have to congratulate him on his skills at causing mayhem. The younger kids were in a panic and even the older kids seemed concerned. Even Matt seemed intrigued by it though he hid it under a veil of amusement. 

Still, whoever was doing this was a master of mischief. No question.

Mello pondered this as he returned to his room after testing. Between exams and suspectected supernatural entities, Mello just wanted to have a lie in.

He tried to open his door but the knob held stiff.

“Ugh, Matt!” Mello started banging on the door. “Unlock the goddamn door!”

Mello heard the click of the door and he barreled through, ready to give Matt a piece of his mind.

But there wasn't anyone inside.

Mello craned his neck around in horror. Somebody had to have vandalized his room too. It certainly couldn't have been that messy before, could it?

Mello heard the sound of something shattering come from the bathroom. He ran inside, determined to find out who did this.

He stopped cold when he saw the mess, A jar of something red was shattered in the sink. It's contents coated the bass in itself as well as most of the countertop. Mello was about to scream when a cold hand clamped down over his mouth and another snake around his waist and pin him close. On instinct, Mello bit down on the hand covering his mouth, only for his to get a mouth full of vapor instead of flesh. Mello looked up in terror to see who it was that held him. 

The figure wore a orange, prison issue  jumpsuit. It was torn in several places and flecked with dirt and blood. It hung loose over what was assuredly a lithe and muscular build. Judging by the strength of his grip on Mello, he had spent a lot of time working out. 

His face was covered in scars. They ran over each other and gave his skin a horrible veiny texture to it. His hair was patchy and uneven; like it had been partially burnt away. His eyes however, looked perfectly intact. They were a brilliant and impossible red. Mello couldn't forget those eyes,  even if he wanted to. They haunted his nightmares.  Mello stared at his captor. 

Beyond Birthday stared right back. 


	2. Chapter 2

“Now,” Beyond's voice was as low and dolcet as Mello remembered it. “Are you going to be a good boy and stay quiet for me? Or, am I gonna have to shut you up myself?”

Mello couldn't speak, his mouth was too full of smoke. 

“I'll take your silence as a yes.”

Without warning, Beyond spun them both around and threw Mello back into the bedroom. Mello hit floor hard and scrambled to his feet. His back was facing the window, ready to jump backwards out of it at any moment. Mello did however, not start screaming.

“You're supposed to be dead.” Mello whispered without thinking.

Beyond smiled, his burnt face crinkling in the most grotesque way. “I was supposed to be a lot of things.”

“How?” Mello’s voice was starting to shake. “How are you alive? Why are you here?”

Beyond took a small step forward and held out his hand. Green smoke was coming from Beyond's palm, right where Mello had bitten him. 

“I wouldn't really classify myself as alive anymore. Generally speaking, your average alive person tends to bleed when their flesh is punctured. Trust me, I would know. As for why I'm here, well that's another story altogether.”

Mello could feel the room  start to spin. This was all so weird. “But Roger told us you died. Kira killed you.”

Beyond's eye twitched. “Haven't you been listening? Mello, I'm dead! I'm aware I'm dead. And to be honest, I'd rather like to NOT relive the gorey details if you don't mind.”

Mello felt a strange sense of guilt. He felt like he'd just offended a grieving widower.

“Okay fine, but why did you come here? You died in L.A.. Why come all the way back to Manchester?”

Beyond's smile came back in full force. “Truth be told, I planned to screw with L’s head. I thought he'd be working out of Wammy's for the Kira case, so I came here.”

Even in death, Beyond Birthday was still very much obsessed with L. 

“Well he's not here, he left for Japan about a fortnight ago.” Mello couldn't help the bitterness in his voice. He had a bad feeling about this case and for once, he didn't want to know all the details. It would only worry him more.

“Hmm, shame, I was kinda looking forward to driving L mad.” Beyond shrugged his shoulders. “Oh well.”

Mello tried to steady his nerves. Beyond had been an unstable character from day one and now that he was in all probability undead, Mello didn't want to cause a mood swing. Still, he had more questions. “So it was you causing all these paranormal activities then?”

“First of all, those movies are garbage and I will NOT be held responsible for them.” Beyond have another cheeky grin. “Second of all, yes, the strange happenings going on around here where all me.”

Mello sighed, putting his face in his palm. “Why though?”

“Eh,” Beyond shrugged. “I got bored.”

“So you smashed several jars of strawberry jam.” Mello deadpanned.

“Okay that was more out of frustration. I can't eat anything anymore. It just turns into vapor whenever I try.”

“Okay…” Mello continued. “Then what about the objects turning up in weird places?”

Beyond smiled. “ I figured out I could turn myself and whatever I'm holding corporal and non, so I thought I'd have a bit of fun. What can I say, I do love to experiment.” 

Mello got a flash of how Beyond's last attempt at experimentation had gone and felt distinctly nauseous.

“And vandalizing Near’s room, good job on that by the way, why'd you do that?”

Beyond's cheeky expression dropped. “I was proving a point. That room should not be occupied by ANYONE, let alone a potential successor to L. It's incredibly disrespectful.”

“How do you mean?”

Beyond gave an awful sneer. “You don't remember who had that room first, do you?”

“Uh… no.” Mello put his hands on the edge of the window cill. He felt like he might have to jump out of it soon. 

“That was A’s room.” Beyond's voice was steely and cold. “He died in there. So it should've been left as it was.”

Mello felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. He'd remembered A’s death. He'd been at Wammy's for maybe a month when it'd happened. One day A (who'd been the most welcoming person at Wammy's) was smiling and telling him to behave. The next day, he was gone. It had been the worst time at Wammy’s House that Mello could remember. 

Mello felt that strange I-just-offended-a-grieving-widower guilt again. “I'm sorry. If it helps, Near was only put in there because he and I couldn't get along well enough to share a room.”

“Not an excuse.” Beyond wasn't looking Mello in the face anymore.

An awkward silence seemed to stretch on for an absurd amount of time before Mello could find some question to ask. “So why show yourself to me, why not just stay invisible forever?”

Beyond smiled sadly. “What can I say, I got lonely. And besides, you seem like the least garbage person here.”

Mello smiled at the non-complement. “Thanks.”

“Don't mention it.”

Another awkward silence ensued. This one seemed somehow more uncomfortable. It might've gone on forever if Matt hadn't come in, saw Beyond Birthday standing there, and lost his goddamn mind.


	3. Chapter 3

Matt was only able to let out a squeak before Beyond had thrown him to the ground. He pinned Matt to the floor with one hand holding his wrists and the other clamped tight over his mouth. Both of Beyond’s knee were jammed under Matt's ribs, preventing him from getting any kind of a decent scream. Mello would only notice later that the door had shut itself seemingly of its own accord.

Matt attempted to thrash violently. His eyes screamed PANIC until Mello knelt down by his head. Matt’s blue-green eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Look,” Mello began. “I know this is a lot to take in. And you have every right to be upset. But I can explain everything, but you can't scream okay. Promise?”

The tension in Matt's body faded but his eyes remained fixed on Mello.

“Let him up.” 

Beyond gave an annoyed look but did roll off of Matt. Matt sprang up to a crouch, putting his body between Mello and Beyond. The tension was back in his muscles. Matt did however, remain quiet.

“Mello, how the Hell is he here?”

Beyond looked mildly amused. “I got bored.”

“So death is boring to you then?” Mello had never known Matt to be hostile. Then again, Matt didn't often associate with the undead either. Still, it was rather jarring.

“I saw the autopsy report.” Matt hissed. “You died of a heart attack, just like all the others.”

A smile twitched at the corners of Beyond’s mouth. “Now why on earth would they let a child like you have access to information like that?”

“They didn't.  I got past the firewall.”

Beyond’s eyebrows  (or what was left of them) quirked up in surprise and Mello felt a jolt of secondhand smugness on the part of Matt's skill.

Matt didn't seem to notice. “So you're a ghost then? Is that why I didn't taste blood when I bit you?” 

Beyond raised his injured hand, green smoke was still pouring out of it. “Yes I suppose you could think of me like that.”

“Beyond,” Mello began, not liking being out of the conversation. “Is responsible for all the weirdness going on around here.”

“SO I WAS RIGHT THEN! IT WAS A GHOST!”

The three of them broke out into raucous laughter and the tension seemed to die down. There was a lot of things Mello liked about Matt, one of the biggest was his willingness to trust. Even if by all accounts, they shouldn't trust Beyond Birthday. 

Matt moved out from in front of Mello so that they were all facing another in a semicircle.

“I must confess myself impressed. I never thought I'd meet a person who could crack that firewall.”

“You know who created the firewall?” Mello smiled at Matt's enthusiasm. He loved seeing Matt so excited.

The subject of “the firewall” was one of Matt’s favorite. Hacking into it had been his pet project for as long as Mello could remember. Both the subtle nuances of its innerworkings and the identity of its creator had been fascinating to Matt.

“Oh yes,” Beyond got that distant look in his eyes again. “He and I were very… close.” Mello got the feeling he knew exactly who Beyond was referring and he prayed Matt would have the social adeptness to drop the subject.

He did. 

“So, you never told us how you managed to get those objects in all those places.” Mello changed the subject.

Beyond snapped back to reality (Oops there goes gravity). “Oh, that's a funny story actually-”

There was a soft knocking at the door.

With a faint proofing sound, Beyond disappeared. Mello had no time to wonder how he did that as Matt was already opening the door.

Near stepped inside. He had a white bag slung over his shoulder. “I thought I heard voices?”

“Me and Matt were talking.” Mello infused as much venom as he could into his voice.

Near didn't seem to care. “I meant other voices Mello.”

“Paranoia must be eating at you. Now what the Hell are you doing here?”

“Paranoia is in fact eating at me. My room is no longer safe.”

“Buy a lock then.”

Near sighed with just the tiniest hint of exasperation. “I asked Roger. I am not allowed.”

Mello could tell where this going. “Find some other place to sleep then cause you can't stay here.”

“Mello, come on. He's been through enough today. Let him stay.” Matt spoke from beside the door.

Mello turned to him, scandalized. “This is treachery! Besides, where would he even sleep?”

“He could take my bed. I can just crash with you.” Matt said, nonchalantly.

“Thank you Matt. That's very kind of you.” Near walked over to Matt's bed and sat on the edge, removing his bag and setting it down as he did so. “At any rate, I highly doubt this would be the first time the two of you have shared a bed.”

Matt had to physically restrain Mello from beating Near to death.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Near is such a cheeky little shit!


	4. Chapter 4

Mello did end up sharing a bed with Matt. It had happened before, though it had never been anything close to what Near had been implying. Mello had issues sleeping that night. Partially because of Near being in the same room as him and Mello having to resist the urge to strangle him. The other reason being the mysterious absence of Beyond Birthday. It was too unnerving. Not knowing where that undead nightmare was put Mello on edge.

He tried to push the thought out of his mind. He turned his head slightly towards the wall and concentrated on Matt being pressed up close beside him. The clouds outside moved to reveal silvery moonlight. Rays of silver light streamed through the window and touched a tall figure. Mello had to fight the urge to scream.

Beyond was standing over Near. His arms hung at his sides, fists clenching and unclenching. He didn't seem to be breathing. Mello had seen enough scary movies, he knew how this went. If he didn't do anything, Near would end up dead. Mello considered rolling over and leaving Beyond to it. But his conscious won out.

He untangled himself from the sheets and Matt. Beyond looked up at him from under his lashes. Mello mouthed the word “no”. 

Beyond raised his barely existent eyebrow.

Mello shook his head and mouthed “leave him”.

Beyond raised his head, moonlight catching the red in his eyes and giving them an almost supernatural glow. He walked silently across the room and dissolved through the window. Mello had to blink for a second. Beyond had just walked through the window. Mello had to give his head a hard shake. He then looked out the window to see the ghostly figure of Beyond gliding across the grounds. Mello turned his head to make sure his roommates were both asleep. When he was sure they were, Mello climbed out the window and followed out after Beyond.

Mello had plenty of experience sneaking out, so climbing out his window wasn't really an issue. What was an issue was keeping up with Beyond. He moved at a breakneck pace and showed no signs of slowing down. Mello briefly pondered the logistics of following a known murderer to an unknown location, at midnight. He decided not to think about it.

Mello finally caught up with Beyond when he'd come to a nearby church. Beyond had stopped on in the yard and was standing in front of what was unmistakably a grave.

Mello stood just out of arm's reach of Beyond. It felt wrong somehow, he felt like he was intruding on Beyond’s privacy just by being there. It was a solid minute before Beyond spoke.

“You confuse me Mello.”

Mello blinked. “How so?”

“You were ready to beat Nate River to death earlier,” Beyond’s voice was light and airy. “But when I so much as hint at harming him. You stop me. Why?”

Mello felt a wave of guilt at his earlier thought of leaving Near to Beyond. “I've seen the kind of harm you can do Beyond. Nobody deserves that.”

“You say that now, but trust me Mello. There will come a time when you will want somebody dead. And you'll wanna do it yourself.”

“You're referring to L of course.” It wasn't a question, but a fact.

Beyond nodded minutely.

Another long silence stretched out as Mello watched Beyond state stare at the grave. Finally Beyond spoke again.

“Do you know how I got the nickname BB?”

Again, Mello felt like he had a terrible case of conversational whiplash. “No, how?”

“A started it.” Beyond turned to face Mello fully, his eyes were glistening with green tinted tears. “He said that it kinda sounded like ‘baby’. That used to crack him up all the time. L started using it for me out of convenience, but it was me and A’s thing.”

Mello felt a hollow sadness. He and Matt had a similar joke, what with Mello’s name being the opposite of his temperament. It felt wrong, seeing Beyond look so… broken. It was like somebody had removed his protective outer shell and left him a vulnerable mess. Mello didn't know how to process it; seeing Beyond so utterly… human.

“Mello,” Beyond whispered. “I would give anything to go back and save A. Don't make my mistake. Protect him.”

Mello gave his best attempt at a reassuring smile, though to him it felt incredibly awkward. “Don’t worry, I will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And y'all thought this was gonna be some upbeat dark comedy. Ha ha... no.


End file.
